Electronics recycling effort reaches milestone

The Monroe County Solid Waste Program has recycled more than 800,000 pounds of electronics with its recycling program since it began in 2004.

dean@monroenews.com

The Monroe County Solid Waste Program has recycled more than 800,000 pounds of electronics with its recycling program since it began in 2004.

The program has collected a total of 810,116 pounds, said Jamie Dean, director of all solid waste recycling. The electronics recycling started as a one-day collection event and gradually expanded into an ongoing dropoff effort through a partnership with Monroe County Habitat for Humanity ReStore, collecting as much as 151,164 pounds in 2010 alone.

The program partners with Habitat for Humanity to offer electronic waste recycling on an ongoing basis at no cost for participants. Recycling electronics is accessible and convenient, Mrs. Dean said. Acceptable materials include computer systems, monitors, CPUs, printers, scanners, keyboards, peripherals, laptops, televisions, VCR/DVD players, video game systems and cell phones. Materials can be dropped off Tuesday through Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Habitat, 840 LaPlaisance Rd.

The average American household owns approximately 24 electronic items, the director said. "Equipment such as computers and cell phones have revolutionized our lives, but our dependence on them at work and at home has created a new recycling challenge, electronic waste," she said. "Electronic waste should not be considered "waste". It is a resource, containing useful and valuable materials such as glass, copper, aluminum, plastic and other components that can be extracted and reused. Recycling these resources also eliminates the need to obtain the elements from nature, decreasing production impact on the environment."

In addition to reclaiming resources, recycling electronics also prevents hazardous materials such as lead and mercury from contaminating soil and drinking water if disposed of in a landfill. It is estimated that discarded electronics account for 70 percent of the overall toxic waste in landfills.

When purchasing new electronics residents are encouraged to shop for environmentally friendly electronic products that: